Kevin Blake fails to register lift

Press, 28 September 1988, Page 32

Kevin Blake fails to register lift

PA Seoul Kevin Blake’s Olympic Games were all over in 10 minutes when he failed to lift in the opening session of the 100 kilogram weightlifting class late Monday evening. The New Zealander trained impressively during the week he has been in Seoul but on the night could not register a single lift. He intended to come into the snatch division of the Competition when the weight was at 140 kg. How-

ever, he passed and did not come in at 150 kg. Instead the 28-year-old came in at 155 kg, just skg below his personal best, and failed to get a hold of the bar on any of his three opportunities. The team manager, Garry Marshall, defended Blake’s decision to come in at such a high weight saying his excellent training and warm-up just prior to the competition had given rise to the belief he could do it.

Mr Marshall thefi said the Aucklander might

contest the clean and jerk in a bid to set a New Zealand record and accrue points in the world championship. The Olympic competition doubles as the world championship and Mr Marshall said Blake would come in at 190 kg in an effort to make his trip to Seoul worth while. However, Blake failed to appear at the mark and could not be found in the stadium. Pavel Kouznetsov set three Olympic records

and gave the Soviet Union its fourth weightlifting gold medal in the 100 kg category, leaving Andor Szayi, of Hungary, the silver and Romania’s Nicu Vlad the bronze. The Russian’s total of 425 kg beat the 1980 Olympic record of Ota Zarewba, of Czechoslovakia. His snatch of 190 was 10kg more than the Czechoslovak’s Moscow Games lift and his 235 jerk smashed the East German Michael Henning’s Olympic record 217.5.

Czechoslovakia's Juraj Dudas went sprawling out of the competition in his third attempt to snatch 172.5 kg. He staggered forward, falling face down with the barbell crashing to the platform behind him. It rolled precariously over his body and off the stage. The crowd gasped and then fell silent as team officials went to help the motionless Dudas. But he recovered within a minute andr walked away holding his left shoulder.